2018 IDP Rookie Profile: Rashaan Evans, LB Alabama

Tom Kislingbury

Rashaan Evans is one of my favorite defensive prospects in the draft but for some reason, it seems not many people are talking about him. He’s certainly only received a fraction of the hype that Leighton Vander Esch or Roquan Smith or Tremaine Edmunds have received.

I don’t think there’s a big difference in quality between that group, so I wanted to delve into Evans to see if he could be a bargain.

Statistics

It’s tough to even get on the field as a defensive player for the Crimson Tide and Evans actually did not manage much production in his four years on the team. Even in his senior season he only managed 35 solo tackles. It’s worth noting that college tackle recording is very subjective. Pro Football Focus ascribed 48 solos and 19 assists to him in 2017.

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Statistics from sports-reference.com.

As a comparison to other prospects, Roquan Smith had 85 solos in 2017 – more than Evans managed in his entire college career. We know that environment, scheme, and teammates are a determining factor in production so that doesn’t terrify me but it’s never good to see a prospect who has not compiled individual statistics. It’s not going to be easier once he’s in the NFL.

Using the PFF numbers (because I don’t entirely trust Alabama employees to be neutral), Evans had 67 total tackles across 632 snaps in his senior season. A 10.2% tackle efficiency score. That’s very similar to Kyle van Noy and Alec Ogletree in 2017. I don’t think for one minute that figure will translate for Evans in the pros but it gives you an idea of how effective he was. As a benchmark, I like to look for over 12% for an inside linebacker so Evans is on the lower end of what I want to see.

In the passing game, Evans was targeted 28 times in 2017 and allowed 21 catches for 144 yards and a touchdown. Those look bad but are actually OK. Avery Williamson also allowed 21 of 28 catches for a sole TD last season. It denotes a player who’s not good in coverage but also not a liability. Numbers tend to be low for Alabama defenders anyway just because the whole defense is so monstrously good against their competition they’re not on the field much.

Lastly according to PFF, Evans recorded seven sacks, ten QB hits and 14 hurries in 2017. They count half sacks as a full sack so it’s a little higher than the table above. Either way, he has put up notably higher pass-rushing stats than any of the other top linebackers in this class. Even Tremaine Edmunds finished ten total pressures behind Evans.

Film

I was really impressed by Evans – not because of his big, flashy plays but his consistent excellence. I saw a fantastic athlete who can play in all three phases of the game. He might be the only LB prospect in this class that can do that.

Here he is as a pass rusher from the edge. Here he is rushing up the middle – albeit unblocked. You can see that he uses his speed to create pressure but also has the ability to use his hands to turn tackles. He’s not just a one-trick pony as a pass rusher which explains his success.

Here he is in the run game making a nice stop at the line of scrimmage. Here he is dropping into a fairly shallow zone, identifying the run and coming up. I love this clip of him making the guard look silly. I think he’s one of the better LBs in this class against the run because of his physical abilities combined with that aggression and violence you can see.

He identifies plays rapidly, he’s got the strength and skill to escape blocks, and has the speed and aggression to make the play.

Measurables

Frustratingly, Evans did not see fit to run a 40-yard dash at either the combine or his Pro Day. Maybe he thought his speed was evident on the tape. Or maybe he knew it would be a bad time. Either way, it’s not what teams want to see – especially with other players around him running fast.

Here’s the measurables we do have for him from Mock Draftable:

I’d say these were good but not outstanding numbers. I was very impressed with his three-cone drill time of 6.95 seconds, but very disappointed with his 30” vertical jump.

Ultimately, I agree that his tape looks fast and impressive from an athletic point of view. But his failure to back that up makes me doubt what I saw.

Dynasty Value

So all in all, this paints a slightly confusing picture. We know that he can perform well in a variety of LB roles. It’s very rare for that to be the case and carries huge value to his team. Good examples of players who can do that are Dont’a Hightower or Jamie Collins. Many of the elite LBs in the NFL are not especially good pass rushers. Luke Kuechly and Bobby Wagner fall into this bucket. They’re not terrible but it’s not a strength of their game.

Here lies the rub. As we’ve seen with Hightower and Collins, the fact that they can do those things mean they often do – which is bad news for IDP value. IDP LBs are driven by their ability to rack up tackle numbers which is best done from a traditional alignment. The more time they’re asked to line up in the slot or attack the edge, the lower their tackle efficiency becomes. We’ve already seen that Evans’ efficiency was not particularly impressive, so this is a serious worry for me.

We’ll see in a few weeks’ time though. If he ends up on a team where he will likely be used as a true inside LB (maybe the Bills, Steelers or Saints) then I’ll be enormously excited about him. If he goes to a team that might use him a little more flexibly (New England, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Indianapolis) then I’ll drop him significantly in my rankings.

I do however expect to see him selected in the top 50 of the NFL draft which will give him cachet. I expect him to be drafted just after Roquan Smith, Tremaine Edmunds, and Leighton Vander Esch.

Conclusion

I really like watching Evans. I love his violence and athleticism. He feels like a weapon more than the schemer Luke Kuechly is. I think landing spot is more important than most rookies because he could be used in very different ways. I could see him as a classic middle linebacker, a Sam or even as a pass rusher. It’ll be great fun to watch him as a rookie and if he lands on your favorite team, you should be celebrating.

He is not, however, the archetypal IDP LB and should probably not be valued as one unless he gets a great situation.

Thanks for reading.

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tom kislingbury